1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a radiator arrangement for a work vehicle, including at least one radiator or condenser configured to facilitate access for cleaning.
2. Description of Related Art
Agricultural work vehicles, in particular towing tractors or wheeled loaders such as telescopic loaders, today include increasingly high-tech and powerful refrigeration units. The provision of powerful refrigeration units requires increased cooling capacity. Tight installation conditions, in particular in the region of the engine compartment, also necessitate a compact design. In order to be able to provide a high level of cooling capacity and a compact design, radiator arrangements are frequently arranged in a modular design, in which several individual radiators or condensers are disposed closely together in rows. As referred to above and below, the term radiator refers to any conventional radiators, condensers or similar heat exchange devices.
Due to the rough work environment of agricultural work vehicles, the radiators become dirty and lose efficiency, making it necessary to clean them at regular intervals. In order to clean radiators arranged in modules, the individual radiators have to be exposed to enable access to any covered surfaces of the radiators. In work vehicles where this activity has to be performed frequently, the use of various swivel devices for the individual radiators is common. Radiator arrangements therefore typically comprise one or more pivot axles, about which the individual radiators can pivot. This solution requires a relatively large pivot angle to ensure easy access to the covered surfaces of the radiators. The relatively large pivoting angle in turn necessitates that the pivoting vehicle radiators are not obstructed by other components in the engine compartment, or that such other components may first have to be removed. Yet, even with a relatively large pivoting angle, access in the area of the swivel axis is frequently very limited. In order to facilitate relatively large pivot angles for the radiators, it is necessary to route connecting lines accordingly, leading to complex and costly designs.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a radiator arrangement of the kind described above which overcomes the disadvantages associated with existing radiator arrangements.